The 55-mile course for Morganzo: Double Nickels on the Grime is looking great. I rode parts of it last night while trying to figure out which machine would suit me best for the actual event on July 14th.

Wanting desperately to use the fully rigid ride pictured below, I installed 42mm tires, dropped the psi, and tested it out last night. Alas, some of the rutted, dried mud sections were still a bit too rough for my comfort level. The rocky, molded sections of road even rattled my water bottle out of its cage at one point.

Fortunately, at least 45 miles are more like the lovely gravel you see above. Even so, I believe suspension (probably a hard tail) is the best choice for the terrain.

And why do they call it Morganzo? See here...

Yup. A bunch of them Morgan kids still have property up there north of town. Hopefully they won't mind us sharing this lovely land with them.

Join us for the inaugural riding of

WHAT IS IT?
It's a 55-mile bicycle race on gravel roads in the shadow of the Bridger mountains. The course is scenic, hilly and curvy, gaining over 3000' of vertical along the way -- that's the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level more than 1/10th of the way to the top.

WHY GRAVEL?
Gravel is more fun than pavement and offers more consistent kickass views than singletrack. Plus, there's a movement afoot. Check out Almanzo or Gravel Grinder to learn more about the awesome races that have been going on in the Midwest for several years now.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
In keeping with the spirit of gravel racing, The Morganzo is an unsupported race and you are wholly responsible for your own safety and well-being. Winner gets first choice of beer from the cooler. There is neither an entry fee nor prize money.

RULES

You are on your own. Bring everything you need to fix anything that might break or go flat.

No littering. Let's show respect for all the beautiful private land we'll be riding through.

Sam H, Kirk Ahlberg and myself set out earlier this afternoon from Bozeman to the Butte area to see if we couldn't catch up with some CDT Mountain Bike Racers. Using the smart phones of my bike geek friends along with the spot tracking system ( http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide ) we were able to catch a few riders just west of route 15 south of Butte.

We caught up with a dude named Kevin who started a time trial along the route 2 days before the race began. I wish I could remember his last name, but without the tracking list of riders it is lost on me.We were talking about the riding and the bear bell his daughter gave him for his ride. I hope that his family will find this post and enjoy seeing him in the field getting it done.

Behind Kevin was the fabled Babe the Blue Tandem ridden by last years winner Kurt Refsnider and Caroline Soong who also raced last year.

I had wondered about Babe and if he was steel or a ti frame. Kurt told me that they always prototype in steel.

Here is a close up of the Rohlhoff they're running.

And the grip sifter that Kurt said is giving him some pain while riding.

Ryan Correy riding in close on the tail of the tandem.

Ryan making a move.

The tandem wasn't gonna let him get too far ahead.

Kirk, Sam and myself rode North of the trail to try and catch more riders.

Dylan Taylor rolling into the top of the pass.

Dylan said he was feeling good and that his new pink bar tape on his bar ends helped.

Katherine Wallace rolling in.

A close up of her fork. I think she said it was a whiskey.

Representing the Kiwis.

Apparently, for you bike geeks out there, Ollie Whalley is running a Rohlhoff with a belt drive.

We were stoked to talk to some of the riders in this years race. They are keeping us stoked and inspired as we follow their beacons from the comfort of our office chairs.

The Bozeman Fix

The Bozeman fix is about bicycles in Bozeman, Montana. We like riding, racing, fixed gears, mountain bikes, alleycats, hardcourt bike polo, community, drinking beer, and all the good stuff that comes along with having bike love and leading the bike life.